I love Hayden too, but he didn't play enough man to man at Houston, or play against enough top level competition for me to feel comfortable with him in the 1st round. I'd be willing to move up from 42 for him.

Mayock's tripping if he has him ahead of Milliner though.

Hayden would be a great pick for us. I believe he is the best corner this year. I've been reading about his quiet ascent up the boards for months now. Coaches and Scouts love this guy.
If not for that life threatening injury everyone would know his name the way everyone knows Milliner's. This guy has more ability.

Would you take him at #12 swerve?

I keep hearing the buzz about DJ Hayden rising up the charts, but I talked to several scouts who can't imagine him going high w/med. history

They acknowledge his talent, AA and ball skills, but some teams have thrown him off the board following his injury.

Others have downgraded Hayden due to the risk, and will consider others w/similar skills over him. Based on my info, I can't see 1st rd pick

If he was a "clean" prospect, I could certainly endorse a late 1st/early 2nd rd grade. However, the medical risk will scare some teams off

definitely, the guy's a stud. Like Mayock said the other day if you want proof. Most scouts think Quinton Patton is an excellent WR with a great NFL future and Hayden completely shut him down when Houston played La. tach. Patton could't even get off the line of scrimmage.
His closing speed and ball skills are insane.

I love how he follows the ball instead of the man. Something Sean Smith could never do.

Dee Milliner is even better in that aspect. Mark my words, Milliner will be the better NFL corner. You're drinking too much of the Mayock kool aide, I never saw any posts where you promoted Hayden before Mayock's new rankings at CB.

Make no mistake, I wish Hayden all the luck in the world, but he is not going to be picked before Milliner, and for good reason. Milliner played in a superior conference, against superior competition in regards to who Hayden faced, and managed to have better stats as well.

The highlights you posted primarily show him making tackles...after the pass was completed to the receiver him, or another teammate was covering...look at Milliner's tape, that is a kid who attempts to make a play on the ball every darn time the quarterback targets the receiver he is covering.

you should do some research before you shoot your mouth off.
I believe if you search for a post that says "I would love to get this guy in the 4th round" from about a month ago you'll see my first post on Hayden.

well that whole response was irresponsible on your part. You said i've never talked about Hayden before on here. I've been having back and forths with Tony on here all week about him. We both like him alot and we know his stock is skyrocketing. Then you said the video did not show him making any interceptions. Did you seriously not expect me to defend my position?

I never implied the thought of not expecting you to respond. I was referring to you wanting to draft him as a 1st round talent, as if you had him graded that high all along. I hope he does well, but if you're so confident in your attempt to belittle my opinion, I'd gladly offer a bet with you in who has the better season as a rook. I'm sure you'll be here after the season is over.

Mark, I think AFC is just saying that he likes Milliner over Hayden, PERIOD. He's not questioning that you have been on Hayden for a while.

AFC, I tend to agree with you that Milliner has played against much better competition, but LA Tech Quniton Patton is a pretty good WR, and Hayden shut him down. I do believe Hayden is a very good CB and would have no problem taking him late in the 1st, early 2nd round.

And acutally, there numbers are not far off. In 39 games, Milliner had 136 tackles, 36 pass breakups and 6 interceptions. In 22 games, Hayden had 127 tackles, 19 pass breakups and 6 interceptions.

ESPN's Mel Kiper believes Alabama CB Dee Milliner doesn't match up with previous drafts' top CBs.
"He doesn't have Patrick Peterson’s skill set, or Mo Claiborne’s, or Deion Sanders’. We know that," Kiper said. "He doesn't have, necessarily, the overall talent, physically and athletically, of Dre Kirkpatrick, his former teammate But he is more fundamentally sound." Kiper went on to add that he expects Milliner to be selected in the top six picks.

NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah tweeted Tuesday that he does not view Alabama CB Dee Milliner as a top-ten talent in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Jeremiah also doesn't view West Virginia QB Geno Smith as a top-ten talent, but acknowledges that Milliner and Smith will likely get "pushed up the board" because they're the best quarterback and cornerback, respectively, available. "Happens every year," Jeremiah said. Milliner is closer to a top-ten talent than Smith. We'd be shocked if Milliner lasted beyond the top-ten picks.

Speaking on his pre-draft conference call, NFL Network's Mike Mayock said he doesn't think a cornerback will be picked in the top ten.
Alabama's Dee Milliner has been the only name floated as a top-ten pick in mock drafts, possibly as high as No. 2 to the Jaguars or No. 6 to the Browns. NFL teams are not as high on Milliner as the draftnik community. The Dolphins hold the 12th pick and are said to be "very high" on Milliner. It's a legitimate possibility that he will still be available there. Meanwhile, Mayock has vaulted Houston's D.J. Hayden ahead of Milliner as his No. 1 corner in the draft.

ummmm, you are the one that belitteled my opinion.
I am confident in saying that Hayden will be the better NFL corner.

Hmmm....so no bet?

D.J. Hayden

COSELL: I watched four games of D.J. Hayden this week, and I’m telling you it was the first time I’d ever seen him play, and as I’m watching I say, “Wait a second, this guy’s the best corner in the draft.” My guess is he won’t be drafted as such. But on film to me, he was the best corner in the draft. He has the naturally quickest feet of any corner in the draft. His backpedal was the most fluid. His balance and body control was absolutely remarkable. He was a sudden mover. He was competitive. He played the run. To me, he was the most physically gifted corner in this draft class.

Think about the backpedal and what has to happen off of the backpedal: Either you have to plant and drive and go forward, or if the receiver runs some kind of vertical route, you’ve got to then transition with smooth hips and fluid change of direction in order to turn in run. There are a lot of guys who can plant a drive but struggle with vertical routes. There are some guys who are good at turning and running, but it takes them fives steps to plant and drive. He was really, really good at both. And when he played press-man, he was right in the hip of the wide receiver. I watched him against Quinton Patton. Quinton Patton was irrelevant in the game. Hayden matched up to him the whole game.

Dee Milliner

COSELL: Milliner is a very, very good corner prospect. He played more to the boundary than he did to the field in the games I watched, and I thought there were some similarities to Stephon Gilmore out of South Carolina last year. Milliner’s an aggressive kid. Overall he’s a very comfortable press-man corner. He’s got smooth balance and body control, but he’s not as good with his back pedal as Hayden is. But Milliner’s going to be a good player.

Hayden the #1 corner, I think 4/20 started a little early for Mike Mayock.

Dee Milliner falls to No. 10? It's absolutely possible. Non-elite cornerbacks are not drafted highly. No corner has gone in the top four since Charles Woodson in 1998. Morris Claiborne, predicted by many to be selected No. 3 overall last year, slipped to No. 6. Milliner is not as good as Claiborne. He's been overhyped, and he's definitely not going as high as the media projects him. He's not a play-maker; he has just six interceptions in three years (compared to Claiborne's six in 2011 alone), and he was not asked to backpedal at Alabama. He'll have to learn new technique.

SI's Peter King believes Houston CB D.J. Hayden might be the consensus top CB in this draft among teams.
Hayden ranks as the top corner on Greg Cosell and Mike Mayock's rankings, but everyone else seems to prefer other corners such as Dee Milliner, Xavier Rhodes, and Desmond Trufant. Our own Josh Norris ranks Hayden as the second best senior corner behind Boise State's Jamar Taylor. Expect the Houston corner to be a top 30 pick.

KPRC-TV Houston's Randy McIllvoy says the New York Jets were impressed with Houston CB D.J. Hayden.
Hayden worked out for 10 teams on Monday and apparently impressed the Jets. They hold the No. 9 and 13 selections in the draft and have a significant hole at cornerback following the trade of star defender Darrelle Revis.

What are the chances of a re-occurrence of his injury, or something similar?

sure. what's the bet?
I think there could be 2 or 3 corners in this draft that end up being better pro corners than Milliner.
I don't think he's super special and guys on great college teams get overhyped all the time. They're surrounded by great talent so they're never exposed. And always playing with a lead.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport mentioned when speaking to a scout about Houston CB D.J. Hayden's tape, the evaluator started giggling.
"For a guy no one talked about a month ago, the buzz is nuts," Rapoport tweeted. "People love his tape." As they should. Unlike other prospects with injury questions, Hayden appears to be gaining steam and could be a top 20 selection thanks to his ball skills after locating the target in man coverage and his ability to quickly undercut routes.